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BJRI vs. CMG: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Retail - Restaurants sector might want to consider either BJ's Restaurants (BJRI - Free Report) or Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Currently, BJ's Restaurants has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Chipotle Mexican Grill has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that BJRI's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

BJRI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.03, while CMG has a forward P/E of 42.65. We also note that BJRI has a PEG ratio of 1.59. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CMG currently has a PEG ratio of 2.39.

Another notable valuation metric for BJRI is its P/B ratio of 3.74. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, CMG has a P/B of 9.86.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to BJRI's Value grade of B and CMG's Value grade of D.

BJRI is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that BJRI is likely the superior value option right now.


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BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) - free report >>

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) - free report >>

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